Got homebuyers? GO FSBO

admin January 20, 2006

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Got snow? In sharp contrast to blizzard conditions this time last year, people were driving around Boston today with their convertible tops down. Wonder if the January thaw will create a spike in home sales compared to 2005, or at least an increase of new MLS listings. Although MLS statistics reveal that unsold homes are up 54% in suburban Boston, NEW MLS listings across Massachusetts are up less than 8% over the same period last year: January 1-15. Does that suggest that sellers are waiting for the Spring market to list their properties, or that more people are thinking of selling outside the MLS to avoid paying traditional commissions?

If you’re one of those homeowners who’d like to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to
get ready, The Real Estate Cafe is planning a seminar on "Getting Organized to Sell For Sale by Owner." Rather than formal classroom instruction, what would you think of meeting at someone’s house to offer recommendations and pick-up ideas for your own home?

Selling a home or not, the New England Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has a variety of resources online for GO (Get Organized) Month (January 2006). To register for our upcoming course, email us at recafe@mac.com, or record your contact information on our blog reader line: 617-876-2117.

Categories: FSBO: For Sale By Owner

Should FSBOs underprice or overprice market?

Several weeks ago, a leading listing agent on Cape Cod in Massachusetts told the Wall Street Journal that sellers should underprice the market by 5% because of hurricane Katrina and an increasing inventory of unsold homes. Then two weeks later, an article in the Boston Globe’s "Big Move" told people trying seller their own home to overprice the market by 5% to 10%. So, in less than one month, sellers have been given advice that could translate into a pricing gap of 15%. More important than pricing strategies is the sellers’ net profit. A seller who underprices the market by 5% could actually net 10% less profit on their sale after paying traditional real estate commissions, right? Anyone can discount your property, so why involve a full-fee, full-service real estate agent at all?

We’d like to hear your opinion about pricing strategies, particularly if you are thinking of selling "for sale by owner." Just click on "Comments" below and begin typing, or call 617-876-2117 to record a 1 to 3 minute sound bite (which we may use in a future podcast).

Listen to conversation starter: Should FSBOs underprice or overprice market? (MP4, 2 minutes, 1.9M)
Date Recorded: 29 September 2005

Subject: Discussion about conflicting advice on pricing strategies given recently by industry experts in the Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe
Featuring: Bill Wendel (Real Estate Cafe) speaking with anonymous buyer agents in Massachusetts

Location: Massachusetts Association of Realtors, annual convention @ DCU Center, Worcester, MA

admin September 29, 2005

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FSBO Makeover: $99 for 1st 3 hours of home staging

Selling your home for sale by owner (FSBO) in Greater Boston? Need help
decluttering, organizing and staging your home before you put it on the market
this Fall? Take advantage of this money-saving introductory offer from
The Real Estate Cafe’s "$99 Menu of Services":

FSBO Makeover: 3 hours of home staging, organizing, and decluttering for just $99

Our transition consultant, a designer/psychotherapist, will work with you to transform your home, based on
your needs, personal style and budget. Our consultant says:

"I
will use what you have in a new way to redecorate rooms, and make
recommendations about treatments and new furnishings to create a look
which will enhance the salability of your home. You will see an
immediate
improvement after only one hour!"

Beyond this introductory offer, our consultant is available on a sliding scale of $35 to $45
per hour, two hour minimum per visit. Our consultant’s goal is to create a balance of
materials and flow throughout a room — organizing each area (including
closets, drawers and surfaces) to provide a highly functional and
beautiful living environment.

Client references available and photos online soon.

admin July 27, 2008

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For Sale by Owner

How hot is the real estate section of Boston.com, the online counterpart to The Boston Globe? A recent email sent to online advertisers reported these stunning statistics:

"Boston.com is proud to announce that in March 2005, traffic to our Real Estate section surpassed 7 million pageviews for the first time in history… with more than 1 million homes-for-sale searches conducted that same month…"

With traffic like that and a starting price of just $69 for a two week ad, The Real Estate Cafe recommends that anyone selling "for sale by owner" should include Boston.com in their marketing mix (and it’s not because we are pleased to be a long-time advertiser on their open house search page.)

Looking for another best practice to increase your exposure? Place an inexpensive one line listing in the Globe’s Friday open houses section (shown in the photo above) but be sure not to miss their deadline: 4:30pm on Wednesday.

More best practices and hot tips on how to sell your own home are now available in your own home. Call 617-661-4046 or email RECafe@mac.com for an appointment.

admin May 13, 2005

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Real time “comps”

Link to recent press post Inman re "real time real estate."

Instead of developing a "CMA" type of report that describes sold data, I’ve
been using the "pending date" instead of the sold date.

Reason? The market is changing so much on a daily or monthly basis,
that considering "comps" may not be as accurate if the sold date is used, as
much as using the "pending date." If you develop a list of 6 houses that
sold in August to compare those sales with an offer you’re making today, then
what if the market has been in a decline since March? How much of a value
difference may there be from properties that went pending in the spring,
compared to a property on the market now?

Some, if not all of those 6 "comps" could have sold last spring. As
we know, listing agents and appraisers will often use the "comps" that best fit
the subject being appraised rather than an objective assessment of the sales
data.

So, next time you structure some type of analysis, why not use "pending
dates" instead of "sold dates" to make any comparison to a subject property
you’re trying to negotiate for on behalf of your buyer clients?

I suggested this to one of the "honest" appraises we typically use
here…he said he’s only using month old "comps" because there is an ongoing
decline in values here.

admin September 2, 2007

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Homes selling for below assessed value in Greater Boston

During the past three months, March through May 2006, another trend has emerged signaling the end of the housing boom in Greater Boston: nearly one in four single family homes is selling for below assessed value, according to an analysis of sales in 27 of the most expensive cities & towns in Greater Boston conducted by The Real Estate Cafe.

During the three month period, 921 single family homes sold across the 27 towns, including 216 sales below assessed value (see related map) identified in listing data from MLSPin.com. According to an interview conducted with Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors earlier this year, "There’s no solid data, but it’s pretty much well known that the government assessment is nearly always below the market value."

Preliminary data for May 2006, suggests that the number of homes selling below assessed value is rising, even though the percentage may be falling slightly. During March 2006, 71 of the 275 single family homes in the surveyed towns sold for below assessed value. That number fell to 61 in April when 257 homes sold across the 27 towns. However, preliminary sales information from May 2006, show that 84 of 389 homes sold for below assessed value — an increase of 23 sales or 38% over the previous month.

More important, the year-over-year change raises concerns. During May 2005, only 23 of the 342 single family homes sales in the top 27 cities and towns surveyed sold for under their assessed value. A year later, that percent tripled, rising from 7% to 22%; and the number of homes selling below assessed value nearly quadrupled, rising from 23 to 84 sales.

Opinions vary about whether the rise in homes selling for below assessed value signal a loss in housing value, distressed sellers, or town assessments which have overshot a changing housing market. In coming days, weeks, and months, The Real Estate Cafe will take a closer look
at those questions, and discuss which cities and towns are most impacted by this
new trend, which towns are improving and which are getting worse. We
invite readers elsewhere to let us know if homes are selling for below
their tax assessment in your communities, too, in Massachusetts and
beyond.

admin

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